About to take the plunge... with used equipment??

[LinaInKorea]

So after handling some cameras today in a store, I have definitely decided on getting the T3i. Whew! What a relief to be sure!

Now.. I've read a lot about the kit lenses being so-so, and many people have recommended buying the body alone. Great. Can do.

I would like to buy a decent quality all-around lens to shoot people, travel, and still-life that will last longer than a learning period. FYI, some day in the far, far future.. I would like to get into couple's photography and/or weddings.

I am considering buying used/refurbished equipment for either my lens, or both, since I can get a huge discount going this route. My budget for my first lens would top out at about $500, which is why going used is an attractive option right now.

The reason I am trying to decide NOW, as opposed to getting the kit and playing with it first, is that cameras/lenses are very expensive where I live. The T3i is almost $1000, whereas I can get a kit for $700 on Amazon. If I'm going to place an online order, I'd love to bundle my purchases for shipping and save a little more. I'm looking at Adorama for used equipment.

Any input on which lens I should get would be great!

[Tito87]

Welcome to DPS. A good all-around lens, in my opinion, would be a 24mm-70mm. But I don't know what exactly you're planning to do with the lens. So, it all depends on what your plans are. Just my 2 cents, anyway.

[mrteacherdude]

For a good quality walk-around lens with relatively good focal length range on a crop camera, the 15-85mm USM might be a good choice. I've used this lens and am very happy with the way it performs. It does have some distortion at the ends of the zoom ranges, but it is relatively easy to fix in PP. I'm not sure if I've seen many of these on the used market though.

There are some super zooms (18-135, 18-200) that seem to be popular, get decent reviews, and are not too horribly expensive. I've never used one of these though so I can't attest to the quality of the lenses or images produced with them.

[jayson f]

if your planning to buy a crop sensor camera i would suggest Tamron 17-50 non vc f2.8 lens.